I chose sir William Wallace as my hero. He is a great military leader. He fought not for himself, but to free his country from the oppression of the English rule. His army was composed mostly of commoners and small land owners. I consider him and the men who followed him true patriots.


They don’t know much about his childhood. He was born in 1270, probably near Ellerslie(Elderslie), Scotland. His father was believed to be Malcom Wallace. Malcom was a small landowner and a little-known knight. After Alexander III died, there was no king of Scotland .Then English invaded Scotland. Malcom was killed in a skirmish with some invading English troops,



In May, 1297 Wallace and a band of thirty or so men took over Lanark, killed it’s English sheriff, and burned it down. Wallace gathered an army of commoners and small landowners, then attacked a garrison between the rivers Forth and Tay. On September 11, 1297 a English army commanded by John de Warenne confronted Wallace near Sterling. Wallace and his men were greatly outnumbered, but the English forces had to cross a narrow bridge before they could reach the Scottish positions. Wallace slaughtered the English army as they crossed the bridge; Wallace gained an overwhelming victory.


Wallace captured sterling castle. After that, Scotland was almost free of it’s English occupying forces. Sometime in October Wallace invaded northern England; he also ravaged the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland. When Wallace returned to Scotland in December 1297, he was knighted and proclaimed guardian of the kingdom.


On July 3, King Edward I (also known as Edward the long shanks) reinvaded Scotland. On July 22, Wallace’s spearmen and cavalry were defeated by Edward’s longbow-men. King Edward failed to completely take Scotland back over before he had to return to England. Edward did succeed in ruining Wallace’s military reputation though. Later Wallace resigned his guardianship in December.


On August 5, 1305 Wallace was arrested near Glasgow, and taken to London . There he was condemned as a traitor to the king of England, that he did not swear allegiance to. Wallace was convicted, hanged, disemboweled, beheaded, and quartered.